Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister
Gerry Brownlee says he expects huge participation in the
public engagement process to determine the future use of the
Waimakariri District’s residential red zones.

“A
public engagement campaign launches today,” Mr Brownlee
says.

“It’s designed to give as many individuals and
groups as possible the opportunity to put forward their
ideas for the land most affected by the 2010 and 2011
earthquakes.

“This campaign is supported by the key
agencies and strategic partners who are working together to
rebuild the region, including the Waimakariri District
Council, the Christchurch City Council and Te Rūnanga O
Ngāi Tahu.

“Critical issues needed to be considered
before this process could begin, including how horizontal
infrastructure within the red zones might be repaired,
maintained or removed, as well as issues like flood
mitigation.

“Waimakariri District is dealing with a far
smaller land area than Christchurch City in this respect, so
has identified what essential infrastructure is required and
is now in a position to get the public engagement process
underway.

“We’re all very keen to hear what ideas the
community will contribute.”

Approximately one square
kilometre of land has been zoned red in the Waimakariri
District in Kaiapoi, Kairaki and Pines Beaches.

“While
that might not sound like a terribly large space, it amounts
to an area the size of 74 rugby fields plus 1800 tennis
courts, with a bit of space left over,” Mr Brownlee
says.

Waimakariri District Mayor David Ayers says there is
considerable interest in the local community, particularly
in the Kaiapoi-Pines-Kairaki area, over the future of our
residential red zones.

“We’re very excited about the
opportunity to create something positive out of an
experience which has been so difficult for so many
people.

“It’s great to be getting this community
discussion under way,” Mr Ayers says.

Of the 1048
properties red-zoned in the Waimakariri District, owners of
just 36 properties have chosen not to accept a voluntary
offer from the Crown.

The broader public engagement
campaign to determine the future use of all of the
residential red zones across greater Christchurch is called
Canvas, and will be run by the Canterbury Earthquake
Recovery Authority (CERA), working with the Waimakariri
District Council to co-host the face-to-face engagement with
the local community.

People can go to the canvas website
– www.canvasredzone.org.nz – to
contribute their ideas, find out more about the land and see
what others are saying. There will also be community
meetings and other opportunities to join the
conversation.

The campaign will later be extended to offer
a chance for people to make suggestions on the future use of
the residential red zones within
Christchurch.

“Christchurch city has a much bigger job
on its hands making decisions about remaining horizontal
infrastructure and flood mitigation,” Mr Brownlee
says.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel says this work is a priority
for the council.

“We want to ensure residents’ groups
and others with an interest in how the red zone is used are
fully involved in the public engagement and we’re working
to get that conversation started as soon as
possible.

“We’re anxious to capture the collective
community knowledge that exists about this land so we can
ensure it becomes a major asset to the city as a whole,”
she says.

CERA chief executive Roger Sutton says he has
received a lot of informal feedback and suggestions from a
wide range of people and groups, and that having a vast
range of ideas will be very exciting.

“I’m confident
this process will provide us with even more to think
about.

“We look forward to hearing from everyone who
wants to be part of shaping the future of our region, and
again showing that our community is a world leader in
recovery from natural
disaster.”

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